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Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) today announced that Dr. James E. Huger, Sr. will chair the 2009-2010 B-CU United Negro College Fund (UNCF) campaign.

At B-CU, UNCF funds help pay for student scholarships, faculty development, and academic research. When B-CU reaches or exceeds its $400,000 campaign goal, it opens additional doors in the assistance available from UNCF, making B-CU eligible to receive a portion of the national UNCF fundraising dollars. Since 2000, B-CU has received more than $10 million from UNCF.

Huger, who at the age of 94 still remains committed to both his community and to young African Americans, has become a local legend devoting countless hours to supporting community service organizations in and around Volusia County.

At a recent breakfast to gather Huger's UNCF campaign steering committee, B-CU President Trudie Kibbe Reed read a proclamation announcing that the campaign will be named the "Dr. James E. Huger B-CU/UNCF Joint Campaign" in perpetuity. This is the first time this campaign has been named.

"Because of his longstanding dedication to the university"s UNCF campaign, there isn"t a more deserving person for this campaign to be named after," stated B-CU President Trudie Kibbe Reed. "We are so honored and grateful he has graciously agreed to serve as our campaign chair this year. We are certain that with his experience and strong commitment to helping others, he will be a great asset to our committee."

Huger's long history with Bethune-Cookman began when he earned his high school diploma and associate's degree from the institution in the days when founder Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune was still at the helm. He later launched his professional career at the institution, and in the early 1950s, was personally asked by Dr. Bethune to manage one of the very first UNCF campaigns for B-CU in Washington, DC.

"I was just floored and so humbled. It's unbelievable that something like this would happen to me," Huger said, after learning the campaign would be named in his honor. "The Lord has blessed me and put me on this earth to do this."

Huger has served the community through a number of organizations including the Stewart-Marchman Center, American Heart Association, Florida League of Cities, NAACP, Governor’s Martin Luther King Committee, Hope House and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. In addition to serving these organizations, he was the first African American to serve as member of the Volusia County Council and he held a seat on the Daytona Beach City Commission for many years.

The UNCF is the nation's largest, oldest, most successful and comprehensive minority higher education assistance organization. The organization provides operating funds and technology enhancement services for 39 member historically black colleges and universities. Over its 65 years, the UNCF has raised more than $2 billion to help a total of more than 350,000 students attend college and has distributed more funds to help minorities attend school than any entity outside of the government.

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Liz Poston
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About Bethune-Cookman University

Founded in 1904 by Mary McLeod Bethune, Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) today sustains her legacy of faith, scholarship and service through its relationship with the United Methodist Church and its commitment to academic excellence and civic engagement. B-CU offers baccalaureate degrees in 37 majors through six academic schools – Arts & Humanities; Business; Education; Nursing; Science, Engineering and Mathematics; and Social Sciences – and maintains intercollegiate athletic programs and instrumental and choral groups that have achieved national recognition. Located in Daytona Beach, B-CU is one of three private historically black colleges in the state of Florida. The institution boasts a diverse and international faculty and student body of more than 3,400.

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